Tuesday, September 13, 2011

According to Danish news reports (the secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is Danish), including Berlingske Tidende, NATO's headquarters in Kabul are under a major attack, with the Taliban issuing a statement that suicide bombers are involved in a "mass suicide action."

NATO headquarters in Kabul is under attack, and there is strong shooting at a central square in the city.

"ISAF headquarters is currently under attack," says a military source.

But a spokesman for ISAF would not confirm that information. The International Security Assistance Force is the NATO-led force in Afghanistan.

Previously, the Afghan capital was rocked by at least six powerful explosions, and a Taliban spokesman stated that its rebels are engaged in a "massive suicide attack", which targets government offices as well as the Afghan and foreign intelligence services.

An eyewitness told Reuters that the attackers have penetrated a tall building under construction and that shots are being fired against soldiers who are returning the fire.

The fighting is taking place next to a barracks and the Marriott hotel.

The first explosion was heard in the embassy area and the roads there were closed shortly after.

Soon thereafter followed more explosions.

"There are a number of fighters by Abdul Haq Square," the head of Kabul's criminal police, Mohammad Zahir, told Reuters.

Several Taliban insurgents have taken up positions with rocket launchers, AK-47-rifles, and bulletproof vests near the embassy district, said a spokesman for the Islamic insurgency movement.

Maybe the explosion was not that big.

This could indicate that the explosion was not as great as first reported. Indeed, the Danish Refugee Council's representative in Kabul, Stefano Cordella, reported that neither felt nor heard the explosion.

"Our office is located two kilometers from the embassy area, but we didn't hear the explosion. Right now we are following the developments on television."